ASL A76 Night Drop - Eagles Strike

Near CAUQUIGNY, FRANCE, 6 June 1944: Scattered in farms and villages along thirty miles of coast, the German 709th Infantry Division had been awaiting the invasion for a year. This unit had been formed 18 months before around a core of German veternas from the Russian Front, and filled out with a large number of conscripts from occupied countries. Shortly after midnight on June 6th, the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division dropped into the midst of the 709th. The mission of the 82nd was to hold open the causeways across the flooded terrain behind Utah Beach, thus allowing the invading units rapid exit while preventing the Germans from reinforcing the beach defenders. Although utterly disorganized by the night drop, the 82nd had begun to regroup and push aside the 709th when, as dawn broke, the 1057th Grenadier Regiment of the 91st Air Landing Division attempted to break though to the beaches. VICTORY CONDITIONS: Use the conditions as set or use the requirement for the Germans to be able to trace a contiguous line of road hexes from the east to west edge (top to bottom) free from Good Order (not pinned or demoralized) squads (not leaders) on adjacent to it. AFTERMATH: American paratrooper training stressed individual aggressiveness and initiative. ON the morning of D-Day, this training paid full dividends. Small knots of Americans, who would not surrender, seemingly blocked every road. The advancing grenadiers found themselves attacked from all sides. As the fight degenerated into dozens of small unit actions, the causeways remained in the GI's hands. By midnight of June 6th, the entire U.S. 4th Infantry Division was ashore and a secure beachhead was assured.